A Night of Tartare, Fondue and Oysters [& etc] at Artisanal

A while ago I was in the mood for some steak tartare [it’s all Jacala‘s Mr. Borderon’s fault.. I still haven’t found better steak tartare… sigh….] and fondue… so where else to go but Artisanal [I was between Artisanal and Ca Va which I went to a few days later….]

I almost always start off dinner with a glass of champagne, especially when I know I’ll be having food from the raw bar…

Another reason why I chose Artisanal was for their Bunny Boudin… hahaha aka Rabbit Sausage

Rabbit Sausage

It didn’t disappoint but I didn’t end up eating much of it… I prefer my bunny warm not cold :[ I excepted a warm sausage… cooked with a nice pop in the skin

Duck-Foie Gras Rillettes

OOOOO but I ate the crap out of the rillettes.. so creamy and divine. Absolutely naughty tasting and just amazing. I don’t prefer my foie cold but this worked beautifully… especially on the yummy charred bread…

Tete de Cochon

I actually wanted to get the Lomo, but they were out. How could I ever say no to headcheese? This melted in my mouth… heavenly.

Cheese Plate

I asked for some simple cheeses… not too pungent.. these were what I got, I forgot what they were.. but the creamy one was amazing.

Grilled OctopusFingerling Potatoes & Smoked Paprika

Good, simple but nothing special. I think I’ve been overdoing it on the octopus lately – everything is cooked great but it all tastes the same lately….

Foie Gras TorchonFig Chutney & Grilled Bread

Great Foie, like always I don’t eat too much cold foie [simply seared is the bestest] so the dinner date ate most all of it.

Carpaccio of Yellofin TunaShaved Fennel & Ratatouille Vinaigrette

Definitely a lot more wet than I expected but the flavors were amazing – I LOVE fennel… so I try to eat as much of it as possible when in season.

Steak TartareArtisanal Blend Beef

Check out that sexy caper berry on top, HUGE, no? This was a bit too mushy for me….

Anyways the waitress wouldn’t let us order fondue at first, she said we already had too much food – lies. Got the fondue anyways….. and it was glorious… ended up licking the bowl clean – most likely.

Petit Gouda & Stout Fondue

Les Baigneuses
Apples, Crudites, Kielbasa & Chicken Tenders

It’s all about the apples :D I love the contrast of crunchy, sweet, creamy, cheesy, salty….

Isn’t this cute? Didi ended up sleeping on my glasses the whole night – she is way too adorable. :D